good tips. another fun tip is to export your files to an external hard drive. i have old drives from the late 90's with all my sessions and files that i can access everything with todays technology.
so much wisdom in retiring an older daw instead of burying them after they die. I have lost so much to working a system into the ground and post software update breakages that were not even necessary. This advice is solid. If you think you can't afford a new system, ask yourself if you can afford to lose it all forever.
Thanks again Ken! Since I've started watching your videos, I've put my whole system in the cloud and bought two backup SSDs. Keeping all the files and software safe 🙅♂️
My DAW of choice right now is Cakewalk from Bandlab. I've been a Cakewalk user since the early 90's, and ALL my music that I've made since then has been Cakewalk files. I'm pretty locked into that DAW just because of the sheer amount of music that I have in Cakewalk's format. The only way I could switch DAWs now is if some DAW comes out that reads Cakewalk files, and I don't see that happening. Frankly I really think that Cakewalk, right now is the best thing out there for PC users who can use it. Especially for someone looking to just start out. It's free. It's a professional DAW. It works great. The only disadvantage is that you can't save your own copy of it. But it doesn't require an online only connection. It only needs that if you want to keep receiving their updates. You can easily install it on a backup hard drive somewhere and just copy it back over if you need to re-install.
I'm retiring my old setup (Cubase 5) and I'm honestly not sure how I want to archive it yet, but I know I want to do it in a way that I'm not dependent on a rig that may break down and render it all inaccessible.
I think you provided a very interesting perspective on the Pro Tools subscription model. I remember seeing the prices they're asking for when I first became interested in making music and thought that there was no way anyone other than professionals are going to want to fork over that kind of money for software. It's nice to see that even people like yourself who do make music for a living are hesitant to pay those prices and would rather stick to a more traditional one-time-payment and not having to deal with always-online authorization and whatnot. We're in the same situation of not wanting to pay for a subscription but for different reasons.
Couldn't agree more. Can't stand subscriptions. Let me buy your software, then you support it. When it's time for an upgrade, I'll pay you for it. Amen, Ken.
I sometimes fantasize about becoming a real music professional. A true pro. When I do THAT dream version of me fantasizes about being Ken level pro. HM always sharing next level knowledge.
Yeah when installing software, I get annoyed with the "I agree" button. I wish that there was a "yeah, what ever" button. Or sometimes the computer crashes and a dialog box pops up to explain the situation. And then there is this one button that says "OK". There needs to be a "no, it's not OK" button.
I just started picking up a couple plug-ins through Waves Central (including a VST of that API 550B EQ, wow!) and I love how they manage the software - licenses, installations, the whole nine yards.
Ableton user here. Before that, I tried Cakewalk, Cubase, Sonar, Fruity Loops, etc. I avoid upgrades until I feel I have to. At least with Ableton and the plugins I use, once I finally get everything working and it's actually stable, I don't mess with it! 😬 That being said, usually my software upgrades happen when I'm upgrading hardware that has reached it's performance limits.
Looks like the Waves system works the same as Arturia's system. One central program that manages all your products and activations. I'll probably need to do an upgrade sooner than later.
i would consider myself more a hobbyist, but i would definitely agree with everything you're saying. a daw is like your personal instrument in a way, just like a guitar or piano. when you get a new guitar you don't just tear apart your old one to frankenstein together a hybrid of the old and new. that would be crazy. and yeah, i also don't like subscriptions because of their lack of permanence. what happens when i'm old if i want to bring up a song i made 20 years ago with subscription software that may not even exist anymore?
cool video. I use Ableton, I only have one subscription based vst, the rest I straight up purchase, and I will never ever ever ever used cracked software
*Thanks for making these videos Ken!!*
agreed Ken. I won't use subscription apps. I am a Reaper user and love it for the fact that it is so simple.
good tips. another fun tip is to export your files to an external hard drive. i have old drives from the late 90's with all my sessions and files that i can access everything with todays technology.
so much wisdom in retiring an older daw instead of burying them after they die. I have lost so much to working a system into the ground and post software update breakages that were not even necessary. This advice is solid. If you think you can't afford a new system, ask yourself if you can afford to lose it all forever.
During this time Hiwatt Fridays are the only way I remember that it is actually Friday
Too true!
I must say, that's a brilliant approach. Very wise and professional. Thanks, for the tip, Ken!
Yaaaaaaaayyy it’s Holy HiWatt Friday!!
I really like Ken’s “use what works for YOU” philosophy
YMMV - your mileage may vary. Live by this!
Best stance to take when no one is being harmed by the outcome👍🏼
Thanks again Ken! Since I've started watching your videos, I've put my whole system in the cloud and bought two backup SSDs. Keeping all the files and software safe 🙅♂️
My DAW of choice right now is Cakewalk from Bandlab. I've been a Cakewalk user since the early 90's, and ALL my music that I've made since then has been Cakewalk files. I'm pretty locked into that DAW just because of the sheer amount of music that I have in Cakewalk's format. The only way I could switch DAWs now is if some DAW comes out that reads Cakewalk files, and I don't see that happening. Frankly I really think that Cakewalk, right now is the best thing out there for PC users who can use it. Especially for someone looking to just start out. It's free. It's a professional DAW. It works great. The only disadvantage is that you can't save your own copy of it. But it doesn't require an online only connection. It only needs that if you want to keep receiving their updates. You can easily install it on a backup hard drive somewhere and just copy it back over if you need to re-install.
Also PRINT FULL STEMS of every finished project. Pre and post effects versions.
Totally agree mate! I have stems of every song I produce and mix on an external drive.
Thanks for posting this, Ken!
Thanks, this is great advice. I still have old DAWs loaded on old computers packed away but each of them sadly enough has hardware issues.
I'm retiring my old setup (Cubase 5) and I'm honestly not sure how I want to archive it yet, but I know I want to do it in a way that I'm not dependent on a rig that may break down and render it all inaccessible.
I think you provided a very interesting perspective on the Pro Tools subscription model. I remember seeing the prices they're asking for when I first became interested in making music and thought that there was no way anyone other than professionals are going to want to fork over that kind of money for software. It's nice to see that even people like yourself who do make music for a living are hesitant to pay those prices and would rather stick to a more traditional one-time-payment and not having to deal with always-online authorization and whatnot. We're in the same situation of not wanting to pay for a subscription but for different reasons.
Couldn't agree more. Can't stand subscriptions. Let me buy your software, then you support it. When it's time for an upgrade, I'll pay you for it. Amen, Ken.
I sometimes fantasize about becoming a real music professional. A true pro. When I do THAT dream version of me fantasizes about being Ken level pro. HM always sharing next level knowledge.
after digging deep on this advice I have to say something I'm used to saying on here.. THANK YOU SONIC SENSEI!! sage advice indeed
Yeah when installing software, I get annoyed with the "I agree" button. I wish that there was a "yeah, what ever" button.
Or sometimes the computer crashes and a dialog box pops up to explain the situation. And then there is this one button that says "OK". There needs to be a "no, it's not OK" button.
I just started picking up a couple plug-ins through Waves Central (including a VST of that API 550B EQ, wow!) and I love how they manage the software - licenses, installations, the whole nine yards.
Ableton user here. Before that, I tried Cakewalk, Cubase, Sonar, Fruity Loops, etc. I avoid upgrades until I feel I have to. At least with Ableton and the plugins I use, once I finally get everything working and it's actually stable, I don't mess with it! 😬 That being said, usually my software upgrades happen when I'm upgrading hardware that has reached it's performance limits.
Looks like the Waves system works the same as Arturia's system. One central program that manages all your products and activations. I'll probably need to do an upgrade sooner than later.
Thank you for this wisdom.
You rock!
Big fan since I caught Rabies!
Rabies was my introduction too tptnny!!! Thanks for sharing, I appreciate it so much! Apologies for replying 10 months later 😳🙏
Cheers,
-hw
i would consider myself more a hobbyist, but i would definitely agree with everything you're saying. a daw is like your personal instrument in a way, just like a guitar or piano. when you get a new guitar you don't just tear apart your old one to frankenstein together a hybrid of the old and new. that would be crazy. and yeah, i also don't like subscriptions because of their lack of permanence. what happens when i'm old if i want to bring up a song i made 20 years ago with subscription software that may not even exist anymore?
I’m done with Ableton since they forced 10 on Mac users that want to update. Just got Reaper, happy so far.
cool video. I use Ableton, I only have one subscription based vst, the rest I straight up purchase, and I will never ever ever ever used cracked software
G3 comes in handy sometimes
Waves feels like a subscription to me.
Just use Cakewalk. It's free
I started using Reaper recently, and liked it enough that I bought it. But yeah, free is valuable too!
ok boomer